Key governments from across the Global South denounced the Netanyahu government’s military move into Rafah as a “war crime,” demanding that the international community and the UN Security Council take action to impose a ceasefire and end this latest horrific violation of international humanitarian law by that government. Among those calls:
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry issued a statement today condemning Israel’s move. “Any attempt at forced transfer or displacement of Palestinians, including from Rafah, are unacceptable as it amounts to an ultimate crime against humanity,” it charged. The international community, particularly the UN Security Council, must stop Israel’s “brutal atrocities” immediately and prevent any further humanitarian catastrophe, it urged.
Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz wrote today on his X account: “By carrying out a ground attack on Rafah, just a day after Hamas approved Qatar and Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire deal, Israel has added another to the war crimes it has committed in Palestinian territories since October 7…. Netanyahu and his associates who committed these crimes against humanity and those in power who remained silent will sooner or later be held accountable before humanity.”
China’s Foreign Ministry Press Spokesman Lin Jian told reporters today: “We strongly call on Israel to listen to the overwhelming appeal of the international community, stop attacking Rafah, and do everything possible to avoid an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. It has been over 200 days since the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out. The horrific humanitarian catastrophe it has caused is testing the moral conscience of humanity.” He admonished that war and violence “will never bring true security, and will only deepen hatred. The international community must take action. The immediate priority is to implement UNSC Resolution 2728, realize the ceasefire at once, ensure humanitarian relief, and return to the right track of seeking a political settlement of the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-State solution as soon as possible.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry demanded May 6 that the international community “intervene immediately to put an end to the genocide the Israeli forces are committing against innocent civilians in the occupied Palestinian Territories.” The Foreign Ministry denounced Israel’s “bloody systematic campaign to invade all regions of the Gaza Strip,” and warned against the displacement of Gaza’s people “to the unknown,” given the lack of safe havens for them in wake of the “massive destruction caused by the Israeli war machine.”
